Thomas kennedy



(No Model.)

T. KENNEDY.

STOPPER FOR FRUIT JARS,

Pat ented June 16, 1885.

ilnrrnn States Patent @Frrcn.

THOMAS KENNEDY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

STOPPER FOR FRUIT-JARS, 800.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 320,36, dated June 16,1885.

Application filed January 12, 1885. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, THOMAS KENNEDY, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Stoppers for Fruit- Jars and other Vessels, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention consists of certain improvementsin the construction ofdevices for closing the mouths of fruit-jars and other vessels in whichoblong stoppers are adapted to corresponding seats inside the mouths ofthe vessels, as fully described and claimed hereinafter.

Inthe accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a bend or shape of the bar isnot material, howvertical section ot'a fruit-jar with my improvement.Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, showing the manner of inserting thestopper. Fig. 3 is a perspective view. Fig. 4is another perspectiveview, showing the application of my invention to a kettle. Fig. 5 is aperspective view of a retaining-bar, and Fig. 6 is a view at any timeget out of shape, it can readily be of a modification of the same.

A is the body of the jar or other vessel, which is provided with amouth, B, flanged 0r beveled, as shown in 1, to form an inside bearingfor the stopper 1). The mouth of the vessel has an interior outline ofan oval or other oblong shape, as shown in Fig. 2, and the stopper iscorrespondingly shaped, and is provided around its periphery with arubber or other gasket, (1. The upper face of the stopper is providedwith a hook or eye, E, through which can be passed the springretaining-bar F, whose opposite ends are to rest on the upper edges ofthe mouth of the vessel. This retainingbaris of the construction shownin Figs. 1 and 5-ihat is, arched or bent to form in effect an ellipticspring, and having at one end an enlargement or flattened head,f, and atthe other end a hook,f, which catches the eye B when the-retainer isdrawn out from engagement with the upper edges of the mouth of thevessel, and affords a means of handling the stopper to insert orwithdraw it, as illustratedin Fig. 2. This hookf may be at right angleswith the tlattenedheadf, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3; but I prefer tomake it about parallel therewith, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, so as toleave no unnecessary projection when the vessel is closed. In themodified form shown in Fig. 6 the hook is extended to form a closedloop, so that the retaining-bar will at all times remain connected withthe l l l stopper and not get separated therefrom and lost. In applyingthe stopper the hooked retainer F is passed through the eye of thetopper and the latter is inserted into the mouth of the vessel, as shownin Fig. 2, and then turned so that the oblongs of the stopper and mouthwill coincide. Then the retainer F is brought to a horizontal positionand moved laterally until its opposite ends rest on the upper edges ofthe mouth of the vessel with the elasticity of the bar tending to pullthe stopper upward to a tight closure to its seat. In Fig. 5 the bar isshown in its normal curved form when free, while in Fi 1 it is shownconstrained. The precise curve or ever, so long as it has some inherentelasticity. In the modification, Fig. 3, the bar is inserted in theposition shown, and then turned, as indicated by the arrow, up onto thenotched projections b, which will bring the desired strain on theretainer. It'the retainer should bent again to the necessary form. Thefiattened head f at one end of the retainer, and in some cases also thebook 1" at the other, prevents the retainer from being turned underconstraint.

Hy invention, it will be understood, can be applied to various formsot'vessels as well as fruit-jars. For instance, I have shown it applied toa butter kettle or keg in Fig. 4, in a manner which will be readilyunderstood without explanation.

I claim as my invention 1. A vessel having an oblong inside seat andcorresponding stopper with an eye, in combination with an upwardlycurvedspringretainer passing through the eye, and having a flattened head torest on the mouth of the vessel, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

2. A vessel having an oblong inside seat and an oblong stopper providedwith an eye, in combination with a spring retaining-bar having a closedloop adapted to said eye, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

TH. KENNEDY.

Witnesses HARRY SMITH, HUBERT Howsoiv.

